Love's A Game: Rewritten
by LucayaRiarkleaf
Summary: Maya's mother signs her up for a reality dating show against her will, but when the lucky guy is none other than Pro baseball player Lucas Friar, Maya might start to change her mind. Lucas's friends quickly become her best friends, and the lines between television and romance get blurred. Lucaya mainly, background Riarkle and Zaydora
1. Week one

**Hello and welcome to Love's A Game!**

 **A/N: this story will be a rewrite of the original Love's A Game. There are some things I want to switch up, and maybe make it a little longer, so without further ado, here is your host, LucayaRiarkleaf, with a new addition of Love's A Game!**

* * *

 _"Do you have what it takes to be one of the lucky women casted in the new season of "Love's A Game?" Well you'd better hurry, because online submissions end tomorrow at midnight, and your window for love may be closing soo-"_

Maya turns the television off before the commercial can finish. With a roll of her eyes she turns around to her mother, who is eating some popcorn on the couch.

"Honestly mom, what kind of woman signs up to date a guy along with 9 other women? It's a little sickening if you ask me."

"But honey, did you hear who the guy is this year? It's Lucas Friar, that little cutie that plays shortstop for the Mets! It could be quite the experience."

"Are you trying to convince me to audition? Because it probably won't happen."

"Not exactly."

Katy's eyes flutter down, almost like she is shy. Katy is never shy.

"Mom. What did you do?"

Maya sits down cautiously on the couch. Katy reaches under the seat cushion of the couch and pulls out a manilla folder with large block letters:

 **Love's A Game**

 **We Want You To Play!**

"And honey, you don't even have to audition, it's all sorted out already! All you have to do is pack your things and get ready to leave, they will come get you on Monday!"

"And if I don't?"

"Then you will have to get your own apartment. How are you ever going to meet anyone if you live with your mother? I can take care of myself, and I want you to go and have fun. Oh, and I've already googled the house you will be in, it's amazing! It has a pool, and a huge balcony, you will love it."

Maya stands up and faces her mother.

"So you're saying that this is an ultimatum. I either go on a reality dating show, or you kick me out. Do you hear the words coming out of your mouth? This is insane."

"Drastic times, sweetie. Besides, I think you will really like this Lucas fellow."

"You know what, I will go, and when I come back, you have to give me your room. It's bigger and has the balcony."

"Done. Go pack."

This has got to be one of the most ridiculous things she's ever done, Maya thought. And she's done some crazy things. She lives in New York City for crying out loud! She is an artist who works at the Museum of Modern Art. Hell, she even broke into the NYC Zoo once, on a whim. But none of that holds a candle to a dating reality show.

"Embrace it. Maybe some of the girls will be nice, and you'll make a couple of friends."

She whispers to herself, falsely trying to reassure her doubt, and that ever-present urge to yell at her mother for signing her up against her will.

Monday comes soon enough, and when she hears a knock at the door, she hugs her mom a little harder than she should, and it's not out of love.

"Have a good time honey, see you when you get back."

"Yeah, bye mom."

Maya walks outside with her suitcase, and when she get to the curb she sees a dark skin man, who looks about the same age as her.

"You can put your bag in the back, it won't take too long to get to the house."

"Thanks, I'm Maya by the way."

She closes the back door and reaches her hand out to shake his. He accepts it with a smile.

"Zay. Nice to meet you, Maya."

They get into the car and almost make it through the city before they hit traffic.

"Damn, every time."

Say says, frustrated.

"Yeah, it's like all the tourists leave Times Square at exactly the same time every day."

Zay chuckles a little and looks over.

"Your apartment wasn't too far from here, how long have you lived in New York?"

"Born and raised, believe it or not. I havent' always lived this far out of town though, I used to live over on Bleeker."

"No way?"

He says, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, I went to Franklin High."

"I went to Adams!"

Zay says, excitedly.

"No! That's crazy, I actually missed the school zone for Adams by two buildings."

"Damn, small world."

"Oh my god, and they have this coffee place on bleacher too, what's the name, I practically lived there my junior year."

"If you're talking about Topanga's I swear."

"That's the place! The scones there are the best in the City."

Zay laughs, and maya looks confused.

"What?"

She asks.

"I have a feeling you will do just fine Maya, just fine."

The conversation lulls as traffic finally lessens. Within 15 minutes they arrive at the house.

"Okay," Zay says, "You are the 10th and final girl to enter the house. When you get in, Smackle should be-"

"What on earth is a Smackle?"

"Oh, she's one of Lucas's friends, like me. She's actually my girlfriend. Her real name is Isadora, and Smackle is her last name. But when you meet Farkle, that really is his first name, just go with it. Anyway, when you get inside, Smackle should be in the first room on the right, with a clipboard to tell you who you will be rooming with. After you put your things away, come back downstairs, and production will explain how the show works and everything."

"Is it weird to be nervous?"

She asked, hoping he would think its a hypothetical question.

"Not at all, Maya. Be yourself, and you will do great, I promise. If you thought I was cool, just wait until you meet Riley. I have a feeling she will love you."

"Ok, yeah, I can do this, let's go."

"Ooh, sorry M, I can't go with you, I'm a busy man, but I will see you later, I promise. You got this. ps, I picked up all the girls today, and you're easily my favorite. Don't tell anyone I said that."

She laughs, and her nerves fade.

"Alright, I'll see you later, then."

Maya takes a couple deep breaths before she pushes open the door to the house. She figures out that someone could probably fit 6 of her apartment inside the first floor of this house. As directed, she looks into the first room on the right, and sees a small brunette with a clipboard.

"Smackle?"

"Yeah, that's me, you must be Maya Hart."

"Yep."

"Your room is the second door to the left on the second floor. You are sharing with Kaitlyn, who seems pretty normal, or at least more normal than some of the others. After you put your things away, head back down here so that we can get you guys familiar with production and everything that's happening."

"Thank you!"

"Any time, good luck Maya Hart."

Maya smiles back at Smackle and begins her ascend up the staircase. When she finally reaches the second room on the left, she opens the door, and sees one bed that's already taken, and the other one isn't. Putting her things down, she heads back downstairs to the room where Smackle was.

Smackle is now sitting down next to a familiar darker skin boy, so Maya walks up.

"Hey Maya, I heard that you and Zay had some things in common."

'Yeah, I went to the next high school over!"

"How cool" Smackle says "I went to Einstein Academy until High school, then transferred to Adams."

"I had a couple of friends that went to Einstein! Do you know Charlie Daniels?"

"Oh my god yes! We were in the same class, you went to Franklin?"

"Yeah, and funny thing is that I missed the district to go to Adams by 2 buildings."

"That's insane, Maya. The odds that we've seen each other before are so high, and yet here you are."

Zay pipes in finally

"Smack, ask her what her favorite coffee shop is?"

Smackle turns from Zay to me with her eyebrows raised.

"Topanga's, the little place on Bleeker."

"No it isn't."

"Ok, first Zay and now you, why doesn't anyone believe me?"

"No it's not that. Riley's mom owns Topanga's, and thats where the lot of us hung out all through high school. Heck I think Lucas and Farkle accidentally slept there one night."

"No way! How crazy is that, we would've had to have seen each other before this, then."

"I know, how ins-"

"OKAY EVERYONE LISTEN UP."

They all turn to see a tall man, who has a crew shirt on.

"Everyone will be given Mic packs. Don't lose it. You will be required to do at least one confessional per week. No one is allowed into Lucas's room without permission. Lucas's friends will be staying on the first floor, and the contestants, on the second. Who ever gets the first rose will not compete for the first round of dates. Curfew is midnight on weekdays, 2 am on weekends, unless you are with Lucas or company. I can not stress your mic packs enough, wear them. That's all."

The sounds of breath being released is universal once the guy leaves. Maya turns back to Zay and Smackle. Zay says

"I'm not even a contestant and I am so afraid of that guy."

We both laugh at Zay, and when a tall brunette girl walks in, Zay waves her over.

"Hey Riles! Come meet Maya!"

Riley walks over.

"Hey I'm Riley, and woah ok this is going to sound weird but you look vaguely familiar."

"She frequents Topangas!"

Smackle says.

"Yeah, I just found out that your mom owns the place, I absolutely love it."

Maya says smiling.

Maya and Riley start talking and Maya thinks that they were probably best friends in another life.

Maya, Riley, Smackle, Zay talk for a while, and when Farkle comes, the conversation keeps rolling. They talk about New York and the legendary rivalry between Franklin and Adams high, and they talk about Topanga's and Maya gets asked a lot of questions about her job, her hobbies et cetera. Finally though, production comes and asks everyone who isn't a contestant to leave the room. Riley gets up and pulls Maya in for a hug.

"Good luck Maya! I don't think you'll need it, but it would be weird if I didn't say it."

"Thanks Riley! The next time we are let loose I will come find you guys!"

"Cool! We will more than likely be out by the pool."

With that and another wave, the majority of Maya's company was taken out of the room. She is sitting on one of the couches by herself when a tall brunette girl comes and sits beside her.

"Hey, you're Maya, right?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"I'm Kaitlyn, I think we're roommates!"

"Oh, yeah! Nice to meet you finally!"

"You too, this all seems pretty crazy, right?"

"Oh definitely, there are so many people here."

"And Lucas hasn't even come out yet, I don't think we will see him until tomorrow, at least that's what I overheard from production."

"Really?"

In all honesty, Maya forgot that shows here for Lucas. Sure she knew this was a dating show, but once she met Zay and Riley and all of their friends, she lost her nerves.

"Yeah, and it's already 11:30, so they are gonna make us go upstairs soon." Kaitlyn says.

"What do you think the point of tonight was then? If we didn't even meet Lucas?"

"I don't know, but I bet it was deliberate."

Soon enough, Kaitlyn is right. The scary guy from earlier came back to tell us that we should all be heading upstairs, and that breakfast was at 7, and it would probably be a good idea to show up.

Kaitlyn and Maya walk together, and talk until well past curfew.

"So, let me get this straight-" Maya says "We've got you and me in here, two tall blondes named Hannah and Courtney across the hall, then Cheyenne and Macy to the left of them?"

"Exactly, and then to the right of us we have Aspen and Dakota, and to the left is Bailey and Shay."

"I have no clue how you kept up with all that. I know who you are, and that's about it as far as contestants go."

Maya says bewildered.

"Who was it that you were talking to all night?" Kaitlyn asks

"Oh, those were some of Lucas's friends, I grew up in the city and I went to their rival high school. It was weird that we've been so close all these years and never met."

"Yeah, that is weird. But not as weird as the fact that we haven't even seen Lucas yet."

"I have a feeling that he will make an appearance at breakfast."

"Yeah, me too. Did you hear that production guy? He was like 'Breakfast is at 7 o clock sharp, and you will probably want to be in attendance.' Totally freaky."

Maya laughs at her impression of the production guy.

"And on that note, we should probably get some sleep."

* * *

Morning comes all too soon for Maya, and by the time Kaitlyn is hitting her with pillows to wake her up, its already 6:52. Maya puts on some shorts and a band shirt from a local NYC band, and her docs. By the time she makes it down the stairs, she is the last one too arrive, and the last seat taken at the table. Fortunately though, the seat is by Riley. She sits down and grabs the coffee pot and pours some into the mug next to her. She goes to drink it, and that's when Riley notices her.

"Oh hey Maya, how'd you sleep?"

"Pretty well, although I think this coffee is gonna help more than sleeping does."

"You drink it black?" She makes a face.

"At this point, I have an image to protect. Drinking it black helps protect my broody artistic image."

Riley laughs, and points to her own mug.

"You see my cup? It's 99% creamer, and 1% coffee. Try it."

She hold out her mug, and Maya takes a drink.

"Sweet as peaches, but I think I'll keep mine the way it is."

"Sweet as peaches. I like that. I'm going to start calling you peaches."

"Whatever keeps your creamer away from my coffee cup."

"You say that now, peaches, but by the end of this show, you will be ordering Pumpkin Spice without me even being there."

Maya starts to laugh and spits out what little coffee had actually entered her mouth. Riley helps her wipe down the table, and in the midst, none other than Lucas Friar himself walks into the room.

"Hello everyone, I'm Lucas, and welcome to the show! I know this is weird, but I promise that you will have fun if you remain open to the process. I look forward to getting to know each and every one of you."

Lucas sits down, and starts to eat his breakfast. He is seated in between Farkle and Zay, and once he sits down, everyone starts eating. Maya and Riley laugh their way through breakfast, and when everyone is nearly done, Lucas stands up again.

"Okay, as you may have noticed, I was not there to greet you ladies last night. All of that was on purpose, you see, my friends are the most important people in the world to me, and after they left the living room last night, they came and told me about all of you."

Riley sends Maya and not so discreet wink.

"And because of their words, I have this."

He pulls out a yellow sunflower and lays it on the table. Some of the girls gasp, Maya isn't one of them.

"The person who receives this flower will be safe from elimination this week, but they will not be able to compete for the alone date, and they will have to help me clean up breakfast so that I can understand why my friends picked them."

Some of the girls start skating with excitement, Maya isn't one of them.

"So without further ado, Maya Hart, will you take this sunflower?"

All eyes go to Maya, and she's a little confused.

"Well, sure. And you're saying that now I have to help you clean the kitchen?"

"Yep." Lucas says with a smile.

"Well alright."

He walks over and hands her the flower, she takes it with a smile. A couple minutes later, when the others leave, she notices the nasty stares she receives from a couple of the girls. When it's just her and Lucas, she looks over to him. He starts talking

"So how should we start? I'll wash you dry?"

"How about you wash and dry and i will put them on this huge rack? I'm both parts a klutz and under caffeinated."

He chuckles a little.

"How do you take your coffee?" he asks.

"Black, although Riley is convinced that by the end of this I will be more creamer than coffee."

He walks over to the sink, where all the dishes have accumulated, and starts washing. Maya wits next to the big rack thing and sips her coffee and waits on him to hand her the dishes.

"So Maya Hart, where you from?"

"You'll laugh if I tell you."

he shoots her a questioning look.

"Im from the City, I went to Franklin High."

"No way!"

"Yes way, and Riley told me last night that her mom is Topanga of Topanga's coffee shop, and I almost passed out. I go there all the time."

"Us too, one time we hid under the counters and stayed all night. It was a good idea until we realized that Topanga locks practically everything, and that we couldn't even get to the food."

Maya laughs.

"Ok i've got to ask, I know where you went to high school, but you're not from here originally, are you?"

"Caught me. I was born in Austin, Texas, and I moved here in 8th grade."

"Oh no." Maya says.

"What?"

"Well, it's just that now i'm not going to be able to not call you the most cowboy nicknames I can think of."

"Oh no."

"Oh no is right Sundance."

Lucas smiles and flicks her with water, she smiles back and drinks her coffee.

Once the dishes are all done, Maya says

"Gpd, that was a lot of work, I'm tired."

"You're tired?" Lucas says, laughing "You didn't do anything! I washed all the dishes and dryer them and put them away after they sat there."

"Yes, but I put them in the dryer rack."

"Touche"

Maya smiles. She's about to say something but he starts

"I know exactly why my friends picked you, Maya Hart, and I'm glad they did. Will I be seeing you later?"

"Probably not huckleberry, you have 5 dates today and 4 tomorrow, or did you forget?"

"Oh yeah, well in that case, I will definitely see you after the first flower ceremony, right?"

Maya holds her sunflower in between them.

"You made sure of that, didn't you Lucas?"

She raises an eyebrow, and turns to go back upstairs. She drank a lot of coffee, and if she doesn't brush her teeth soon, they will turn into coffee.

When she gets back in her room, Kaitlyn asks tons of questions, and Maya has no problems answering. And 10 minutes later when the date schedules are announced, Maya gets called by production to read them to the rest of the girls. Tonight, Lucas is going on a group date with Hannah, Cheyenne, Aspen, Dakota, and Shay. Then tomorrow he is going on another group date with Kaitlyn, Courtney, Macy, and Bailey. Then the day after that is the flower ceremony.

* * *

The next two days go by uneventfully for Maya, and she mainly spends her time either in the pool or in the living room with Riley. Riley bothered production enough to get a tv in the living room, and they've been watching netflix to pass the time. No one is allowed their cell phones during the show, and they barely got netflix.

Finally, after what feels like months of waiting, it's time for the flower ceremony. The way production stated it, one girl will be eliminated after every week. All the girl wait in the ballroom for Lucas, and more importantly, the sunflowers.

"Hello Ladies, everyone looks fantastic. As much as I have been trying to delay the inevitable, someone must be eliminated tonight. So, let's get this over with. I have 8 flowers here, and Maya is holding the 9th. When I call your name, please come and accept the flower. Hannah."

Hannah steps up, and she takes her sunflower and kisses him on the cheek. Maya pretends she's okay with it.

"Dakota"

Dakota steps up shyly and takes her flower, she smiles and turns to go back.

"Shay."

"Kaitlyn"

Maya breathes a sigh of relief for Kaitlyn.

"Macy."

"Courtney."

"Bailey."

"Aspen."

The last flower is given out, and everyone but one girl has one. Cheyenne hides her tears, and walks up to Lucas.

"Cheyenne, you seem like a great girl, but there just wasn't a connection between us, I'm so sorry."

She nods, and leaves the room. Maya tries to feel bad, but she can't for 2 reasons. 1. She didn't even talk to Cheyenne, and 2. One down 8 to go. She also thinks of how cryptic this all is, and makes a point to talk to Riley about it later. Lucas leaves the room, but not before he can give Maya a lopsided smile. When the Production guy comes back, he isn't as scary. Maya found out that is name is Nick, and he's only a year older than most of them.

"The rest of you are free for the night, as long as you are back before curfew, you can do whatever you'd like. You even get your phones back for the night. Congratulations."

Maya goes upstairs and changes out of the gown she had to wear, and into some jeans. Kaitlyn decides to go out with Hannah and Shay, so maya is alone in the room. Soon though, a knock interrupts her thoughts. She opens the door to reveal Riley.

"We're going out."

"Do I have to change clothes again?" Maya asks.

"No, you look great, let's go."

* * *

 _"So Lucas, what are your thoughts on the contestants that remain?"_

 _"Well, I_ _don't really know much about Hannah or Shay. Kaitlyn seems like a really nice person, and I like her, but I'm not sure if it's romantic. Macy and Courtney are definitely pretty, and I hope I can learn more about them. Aspen is definitely interesting, and I think we would get along well. Dakota is a little more shy, but I have a feeling she is great. Bailey is definitely confident, and I think thats great. And Maya, well, Maya definitely left an impression. I haven't talked to her in a few days, but that first day at breakfast was enough for me to know that I'm definitely attracted to her. I hope I get the chance to see her a little more this week."_

He doesn't even notice that he's smiling.


	2. Week 2: The Flash

_It's week 2 here at Love's A Game, and Lucas Friar, our leading man, is ready to give out this weeks date cards. He's holding 3 this time, and he's managed to get all the girls into the living room. Without further ado, here is Love's A Game:_

* * *

"Ok ladies, welcome to week 2! this week there are three date cards, 2 alone dates and one group date. Everyone will get to go on a date this week, and I look forward to seeing you."

Lucas sends another lopsided smile towards the girls, and drops the cards on the table. As soon as he leaves the room, Courtney runs up and grabs them to read the to the group.

"Okay, here we go. Listen up as I read these cards."

She opens up the first card and reads

"It's the date card. It says:

 _Kaitlyn, Macy, Aspen, Hannah, Courtney, Bailey, and Shay. Join me in times square at 6 tonight."_

"Sounds like fun! Now for the alone dates! The first one says:

 _Dakota, tomorrow night we are going to see a show, expect the unexpected."_

Everyone looks at Dakota, and she is blushing and her head is down.

"Last one, here we go:

 _Maya, art is coffee for the soul, and so are popup galleries."_

 _E_ everyone looks at Maya, and she raises her eyebrows and smiles.

After they get dismissed from production, Maya changes into her swimming suit and goes outside by the pool. She sees Riley and Smackle sitting at the edge with their feet in, so she goes over there.

"Hey guys." She says as she's walking in to the pool.

"Hey Maya, how's your day going?" Smackle asks.

"Pretty well, I'm coasting the next 2 days, should be fun."

"Yay! Where are all the other girls?" Riley says.

"Oh, they are all getting ready for their group date with Lucas in a couple hours."

"Already? It doesn't start until tonight." Riley says.

"Yeah, I don't know. Apparently it takes that long."

They laugh, and then the sliding glass door opens to reveal Lucas, Farkle, and Zay. Zay takes his shirt off on the run, and front flips into the pool. When he resurfaces, he swims over to Smackle and stands in front of where she's sitting. Farkle comes over and sits next to Riley, and he puts his arm around her. Lucas is the last one to make their way to the pool, and he stops to grab a big float tube before the gets in. When he finally makes it to the rest of his friends, Riley starts talking again.

"So Maya, we never found out what your job is?"

"Oh, I'm an ambassador for the MoMA, and a freelance painter."

"That is so cool! Does anyone buy your paintings?" Zay says. Smackle hits his arm.

"Zay, you shouldn't ask that."

"No, it's totally fine. Yeah, actually, last month the MoMA bought three of my paintings for a new exhibit. I also did the Mural on 45th."

"The one with the stars?" Lucas asks

"Yeah, took me almost two months to finish, but I got paid fifteen hundred dollars so I can't really complain."

"I love that mural, I can't believe you did that, I'm seriously impressed." Lucas says.

He looks at Maya, and Maya looks back, and the stars aren't only on the mural, Lucas thinks.

"You should paint something here!" Riley says.

Lucas leans over towards Maya, and whispers:

"Uh oh, this is her excited face, you can't get out of this one."

"What did you have in mind, I brought some paint with me actually."

"Oh my gosh yay! Go get them."

Maya gets out of the pool and grabs a towel before running upstairs the grab her paint and brushes. When she gets back outside Riley says

"Come paint this patio square."

Maya walks over to the square they want her to paint.

"What do you want me to paint?"

"Paint a sunset."

"Done and done."

Half an hour later and Maya has made the sunset over the NYC skyline. Zay, Smackle, and Farkle all went inside, which left Lucas, Riley and Maya outside.

"Ok, Riles, it's done."

"Ooh let me see!"

Riley turns around and looks at it

"Oh my god Maya don't move I'm going to go get my camera."

She races into the house, leaving Maya and Lucas alone.

"You are really talented."

"Thanks huckleberry, let me see your hand?"

He furrows his eyebrows, but hands it over anyway. Maya uses the towel next to her to dry his hand, then starts painting with orange. She paints a bright vibrant, loopy M.

"M for Maya?" he says. She notices his smile, but doesn't comment. She sends him smirk.

"M for Mets, if anyone asks."

With that, she gets up and grabs the towel, and goes back into the house to put on some normal clothes. She doesn't know if it's Lucas or the chlorine, but she's definitely feeling lighter than usual. When Maya gets back up to the room, Kaitlyn immediately starts talking.

"Maya thank god you're here. What should I wear on this group date?"

"The card said you were going to times square at 6?"

"Yeah, how on earth do I dress for that?"

"I would go cute casual, maybe a floral dress or something. That way whatever you're doing you will be dressed right. Take a hair tie and some red lipstick in your purse in case the situation is more casual or more formal than you think. You can't lose."

"What would I do without you, Maya Hart?"

"I don't know, and neither do you. Im going to go take a shower, I smell like chlorine."

She laughs "Go ahead sweet cheeks."

* * *

A couple hours later, and the group date is out and about and Maya is in the living room watching One Tree Hill with Riley.

"Hey Maya?" Riley says in between episodes.

"Yeah?"

"Do you like Lucas?" she asks.

"Riles, what kind of question is that?"

"It's just, every time you guys seem to be having a moment, you get up and leave. Earlier when I went to get my camera, I saw you painting on his hand, and you were both smiling, then you just got up and left. Why?"

Maya sighs and turns to face Riley on the couch.

"I don't know, honestly. It's like every time I really start to like him, I remember he is dating 8 other girls. You know?"

"So you just cut off the moments between you two because you're afraid he won't pick you?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"You don't seem the type to back away from something because you're afraid, Maya."

Maya lowers her eyes. She tries to look for a response but there's nothing. Riley keeps going,

"Besides, you have your alone date coming up don't you? The day after tomorrow?"

Maya nods

"That's your chance to be fully one on one with Lucas. I think he actually really likes you, Maya, and it might be time to start letting yourself like him back."

Conversation lulls after that as both girls move their focus back to the large television. A couple of episodes later, everyone is coming back from the group date. Courtney doesn't stop at the living room, and stomps up the stairs and slams her door shut. Kaitlyn follows Courtney, but not as angrily. Riley looks towards Maya

"I think that's my cue, I'll see you tomorrow Riles, do you wanna do something? My date with Lucas isn't until the day after tomorrow."

"Sure, Peaches. See you then."

"Okay."

Maya starts to head up the stairs to check on Kaitlyn.

"And Maya?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't be afraid, he likes you too. A lot."

Maya smiles, and goes up the stairs. When she gets to the second door on the left, she opens it. Kaitlyn is laying on her bed.

"Kait, are you alright?"

She sits up and looks at Maya.

"I'm fine, as long as Courtney doesn't kill me in my sleep."

Maya laughs before she can help it.

"Why would she do that?"

"Okay so we went and met Lucas in times square, and the whole date was rollerskating at the huge rink they have in the city. So we all go and everyone is having a good time, and afterwards he takes us all to get some food, and of course the first one to get him alone was Courtney. And that's all fine and dandy, and Hannah ended up interrupting her, and so on and so forth so that we could all talk to Lucas alone. I finally got my time, and as soon as Lucas and I sit down, Courtney comes and tries to interrupt. But Lucas told her that we had just sat down, but she wasn't having it. So finally Lucas told her to go away. It was kind of amazing. So i'm not upset in the slightest, in fact I'm feeling a little giddy."

"That's great news Kait, I was going to be pissed if I couldn't sleep through your tears."

She laughs and throws her pillow at me.

"Oh and by the way, nice painting, you know Lucas left that on his hand, right?"

"No he did not."

Maya doesn't believe it.

"Sure enough, I think Macy even asked him about it. He said 'M for Mets' but let's be real, honey."

"My date with him feels like years away."

"Isn't Dakota's tomorrow?"

"Yeah, then I'm the day after."

"What are you going to do tomorrow?"

"I don't know, Riley said something about hanging out."

"You guys are tight, huh?"

"Me and Riley? Yeah. She's probably my best friend, next to your lame ass."

"Shut up, you love me."

"Yeah, okay."

* * *

The next day passes by boringly and uneventfully. Riley has been put on probation for not wearing her mic pack, so she has been confined to the house. By the time Dakota and Lucas go on their date, Riley and Maya are in the kitchen.

"What do you want to make, peaches?"

"Riley, I do not know how to cook, I told you that."

"Okay then, today seems like a great day to start!"

"Oh my god."

An hour and half later, Maya is covered in flour.

"Peaches, I told you not to put that in the mixer without some sort of liquid to keep the flour in!"

Maya takes some more flour out of the bowl and throws it at Riley.

"And you couldn't have told me that any sooner?"

"Okay, now you've started something." Riley says.

It only takes another 20 minutes before they are both sitting on the floor, covered in mainly flour, laughing so loud that they can feel it in their toes.

"Maya, it's not my fault you don't know how to cook!"

"I told you I couldn't before we started!"

Riley starts laughing again. The sound of a door opening makes Riley and Maya look at each other, surprised.

"They're back already?" Riley whisper yells.

"It's been like two hours!"

"HIDE" Riley says before hiding under the kitchen island. Maya tries to get under the island with her, but Riley pushes her out. Suddenly she's shot up standing, and staring at the face of none other than Lucas Friar.

"Maya?"

He says, clearly confused, but amused none the less.

"This is not my fault." She walk out from behind the island to face him.

"And whose fault is it? You're the only one here."

"Oh, Um, yeah, so, I can explain, yeah. How was your date?"

He laughs

"I'll see you tomorrow, Maya."

He reaches out and takes a piece of her hair in his hands. He pulls out a glob of what appears to be unfinished cookie dough

"I have no explanation."

She says, honestly.

He laughs and she smiles before she can stop herself. When he walks away, Riley pops out from under the island.

"Thanks for that."

"What?"

"Letting me look stupid in front of Lucas! It's just what I needed."

Riley laughs.

"No. You're cleaning this up. Alone."

"But Ma-"

"No. Have fun. I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast."

Maya starts to walk away, when a dish towel hits her in the back.

"Not gonna work, honey. Have fun!"

She makes it up the stairs and into her room, and heads to the bathroom to take a shower despite Kaitlyn laughing at her.

* * *

Maya wakes up in the morning feeling happy. She goes down to breakfast and talks to Riley, who is more excited about her date with Lucas than she is, honestly. As soon as everyone leaves the breakfast table, Maya gets up to pour a little more orange juice in her cup. She decides to skip coffee this morning because Lucas said something about coffee on the date card. Lucas comes back into the kitchen and sets his glass in the sink

"Oh, Maya, we leave at 2. I'd wear jeans"

"Okay, Hopalong, I'm on it."

He rolls his eyes, but she sees the smile.

Maya leaves her juice in the kitchen as she goes upstairs. She talks to Kaitlyn for a while until it's time to get ready.

"So, he said jeans, what are we thinking?"

Maya holds up two different shirts, override and one blue.

"I'd say the red, and with those whit shoes you have. And it may get cold later I'd take that brown leather jacket you have."

"Okay, sounds good."

Maya changes clothes, and puts on a little makeup, not a lot, but enough that she feels confident. She slips her jacket through her arms and heads downstairs to meet Lucas. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't excited to be actually alone with Lucas. You know minus the camera crew that will be pretending not to be focused on them.

She makes it down the stairs successfully and sees Lucas at the door.

"You ready to go?" He asks.

"Born ready, Huckleberry."

He smiles and takes her out to the car that's waiting for them.

"So, I know that you are an amazing artist, and while I don't know much about art, there is this popup coffee art gallery tonight only."

"Yeah, my work friends couldn't stop talking about it! This guy is apparently the best pop up artist in the game."

"I hope so, because I would be painfully embarrassed if this sucked."

The car ride goes quickly and soon we arrive at this two story factory building. It's busy, but not in a 'tackled for the best view' sort of way. It's busy in an eclectic energy type of way, and this is the type of feeling Maya lives for. The car stops, and Maya practically drags Lucas to the entrance door.

"5 dollars a person, free coffee on the inside."

Maya is practically buzzing at this point, and Lucas can't get a 10 dollar bill out of his wallet fast enough. Once he gives it to the guy at the door. Maya takes his hand and practically sprints through the door.

"Maya, the free coffee is over there, do you want any?"

"Sure Sundance, I'd love some."

They go over to the stand, where the coffee bar is so put together that it feels like a restaurant. Lucas pours some coffee into a cup and puts a lid on it.

"Black coffee for Maya-"

He pulls out another coffee cup and pours 3/4ths coffee 1/4th milk and two sugars.

"And normal people coffee for Lucas."

Maya rolls her eyes, but she know he saw her smile.

"C'mon." Maya says.

She grabs his hand again, and she doesn't plan on letting go. They walk around the gallery for a while, and when they stop at a particular painting that Maya likes, Lucas notices the way her eyes light up when she explains it to him. He asks questions not because of curiosity, but because of the way she looks when she answers them. She loves talking about art, and it shows. Right before they leave, Lucas re-fills their coffees, and they head out into the crisp New York air. They walk to Central Park, which was only a couple of blocks away from the gallery. They sit on a bench and Lucas puts his arm around Maya.

"You know, Maya, you've surprised me."

"How's that Sundance?"

"Well, from the first day, my friends loved you. And I know they seem super accepting, but we've always been a tight knit group. They all like you so much. It was a little surprising."

"I think Riley is my best friend, now."

"Me too. But enough about them. After that first day, when you were supposed to help me clean the kitchen, but you just sat and talked to me while I cleaned. I feel like I was supposed to be annoyed- but I wasn't. At this point I think you could throw your coffee on my head and I'd thank you."

Maya laughs out loud, and Lucas smiles.

"I like your laugh." he says.

Maya tries to think of something witty to say to uncharge the situation, but she can't. She takes a drink of her coffee.

"So I know where you're from, and what you do for a living, but what do you like to do outside of work?" Lucas asks, clearing his throat.

"I love pop-ups like that one. Overtime I hear about one I go, it's just the energy of it all you know? Like no one knows who these people are or what they're trying to say, but once they do a pop-up show, everyone is talking about them."

"You could have a pop-up show." He says.

"Not likely, I would love it, but it's not likely. I know I'm talented, but so are a lot of people. Knowing my luck, I would throw a pop-up and 0 people would show. Not exactly the reassurance I need."

"Maybe you just need to practice."

"Oh yeah, hop along? What have you got in mind?"

He pulls out a black felt pen, and hold out his arm.

"I can be in to this." she says.

He tries to fight the smile, he really does.

She begins to draw on the inside of his arm with loopy markings, and he's not quite sure what it is, until he knows. She finishes and hands the pen back to him. He leans forward to get a better look at his arm, at least thats what he tells himself. It's definitely not because she would be closer to him. She drew a baseball and a glove, with the mets team logo on it. Then a coffee cup with her own name in it.

"Serious question." she says

"Anything."

"When people watch this show, do you think they will have a couple name for us?"

"I don't know about the viewers, but Riley and Zay call us 'Lucaya'"

"Lucaya. Hm. I think I like that. Hand me the pen?"

He hands it over quickly, because let's be honest, he would do anything she asked.

She starts writing again, this time in tall, very thin, and closely bunched letters.

LUCAYA.

He smiles again, and she's thinking that she could get used to it.

"Maya?"

She takes another drink and raises her eyebrows. He continues.

"I really want to kiss you."

She pretends to mull it over, but he's sitting very close, and he smells really good and everything just seems all put together. She's about to respond when she notices him shift closer, closer. She feels like they are right on the edge of something, and now they are breathing the same air. Their lips are just about to touch-

and then something happens.

An acorn from the tree above them decides that this is the perfect moment to drop and fall right onto Lucas's head. Maya starts to laugh, hard, and as their soft moment gets broken, a new one begins. Lucas grabs the acorn and throws it at Maya, and when she laughs even harder, he gives up and starts walking to the car. He's smiling, and she knows he isn't mad. She lets him get halfway to the car before she runs after him and jumps on his back.

"Where you going Huck?"

"You were laughing at me, so I left."

"Okay, you have to admit that that was hilarious. The moment was so charged and then you got hit in the head with an acorn. That is comedic gold."

"No. I'm Mad."

He knows he's not being convincing. He hates himself for how badly he is playing this.

"Ok-" they arrive at the car and she hops off of his back.

"How about this. The next time we get a moment and you feel the need to kiss me, I will let you. Even if an acorn or a whole entire tree falls on your head."

"If a whole entire tree falls on my head, please take me to the hospital first."

"First?" She raises her eyebrows.

"Okay, you're right. Second."

She nods and her smile is so wide she thinks her mouth will split in half.

When they get back to the house, he takes her hand and leads her up to the door.

"Ok so I've decided that this is the moment." He says.

"Oh yeah? You sure? A first kiss can define a relationship?"

"I'm sure."

He's looking at her intently, and she knows that the moment is getting serious.

"C'mon now Sundance, let's think this thr-"

He doesn't even care what she was going to say. She kept talking and he knew it was to distract him.

It didn't work.

His lips are on hers, and he wished that stupid acorn would've stayed in the tree so that he could've done this earlier. He has his hands on either side of her face, and after her initial surprise, she puts her hands on his sides, and finally starts to kiss him back. The kiss lasted a couple seconds longer than it should've, but neither one of them are complaining.

It's over all too soon, and they are walking in to the house. They see Riley and Smackle in the living room, and Maya says goodnight to Lucas and walks into the living room. Lucas walks the opposite direction, muttering something about Farkle and the production people.

"Hey friends, what're you watching?"

"She's all that."

"The movie about the guy that takes the girl to prom as a bet?"

"Yeah, I'm a sap, get over it." Riley says. Maya laughs.

"So we aren't supposed to ask anyone about their dates but I'm going to ask anyway. How did it go?" Smackle says.

"It went well, I'm super caffeinated right now, so I probably won't be able to sleep, and I will more than likely look like a sleep deprived mess at the flower ceremony tomorrow."

Riley chuckles and then Farkle walks in to the room, determined looking.

"Riley. Can I speak to you for a minute, Show business."

"Yeah sure."

Riley gets up and follows Farkle into the front room. Maya looks at Smackle, confused, but Smackle just raises her eyebrows.

Riley comes back in a couple of minutes.

"Okay Maya, not to pry, but I think your date went more than okay."

"What?" She says, confused.

"Lucas just told the producers that he is speeding up the eliminations. After tomorrow there will only be four of you."

"What?" She says.

"Farkle said that Lucas told the head producer, and I quote, 'There is no point in wasting everyone's time when I know what I'm doing.' "

Maya doesn't know what to say, so she just gets up quietly.

"I think I'm gonna go upstairs. I'll see you guys tomorrow at the flower ceremony. Its at 11 right?"

"Yeah, see you then."

Maya walks back up to her room, and when Kaitlyn asks how it went, she gives her a vague answer and tries to get some sleep. This is all Lucas's fault, she thinks. He gave her practically her whole body weight in coffee, no wonder she can't sleep.

"Kaitlyn?"

"Yeah, M?"

"No matter what happens tomorrow, I'm glad we're both here."

"Same, Maya. Im glad I met you."

* * *

Maya sleeps in the next morning, and by the time she wakes up, its already 10:45. Good thing this flower ceremony is casual dress. She goes downstairs and grabs an apple before making her way to the ballroom. All the girls are already in there, along with half of the production team, but no Lucas yet.

"Maya!" Kaitlyn yells.

"Yeah?"

"There's only 4 flowers. That means that 5 girls are being sent home today."

"Seriously?"

She didn't believe Riley last night. She knew that her date with Lucas had gone better than expected, but she didn't think he would rush the show this much and send 5 girls home in one day. Maya decides to play it cool.

"Do you know what this means?" Maya asks.

"What?" Kaitlyn says. Her eyes go wide.

"We all get our own rooms now."

She smiles. Kaitlyn hits her in the arm.

"Maya, I swear. One day I will kill you, and I won't even feel bad."

"Oops, I can't hear you through the walls in our new, separate, rooms." Maya smiles.

Production starts wrangling them into their places and a short minute later and Lucas has walked in to the room."

"Good morning everyone. As you can see, there are only four flowers on the table today. I think that this week I have gotten the chance to get to know all of you women a little better, which really helped me narrow down. Thank you all for allowing me the opportunity to get to know you, and whatever happened today, just know that you always have a friend in me. Okay, let's get this over with. The first girl to get a flower is... Hannah."

Hannah visibly relaxes and goes to get the flower from Lucas, once she gets it she returns to her spot and all eyes go back to Lucas.

"Kaitlyn."

This time Kaitlyn and Maya breathe a sigh of relief.

"Courtney."

No one is relieved to hear her name, and Maya isn't even sure if Lucas wanted to say her name.

"And the final flower goes to... Maya"

Maya walks up to him.

"Wow acorn, really made me wait for it didn't you?"

He smiles.

"How did I know that acorn was going to become a new nickname for me?"

"I think it's my favorite."

She takes her flower and hugs him just like the others did, except as soon as she's close enough, he whispers

"It's you Maya. I already know."

She smiles again and winks at him.

* * *

" _Lucas, you seem to be getting along with all of the girls rather nicely, how do you think the rest of the show is going to go?"_

 _"I think, if it could already be over I would've called it. And I'll leave it at that."_

It's hard to miss the smile he sends to the inside of his forearm, where the traces of what looks like black ink used to be.

* * *

 **A/N : Hey guys, Reviews are always welcome! Let me know what you think, or if you have any suggestions! Glad to listen and I will respond ahead of the following chapters! Au Revoir!**


	3. Week 3: Flamingos and Production people

**A/N: hey everyone, reviews are super encouraged! If you have something you want to see in the next chapter let me know and I will do my best! As always, the game of love is waiting.**

* * *

Ever since Lucas eliminated 5 girls from the show in one night, all the girls moved in to separate rooms. There are only 4 girls left, and strangely enough, the house has been livelier than ever.

There are no dates this week, but 2 girls will still be eliminated, then will be sent into the finale. Production told the candidates that this week was mainly going to be about confessionals and editing so that they could string it all together by the time the show actually airs on tv.

Lucas spends a ton of time at the house now, and Courtney has been adopting a new approach to him. She has been hanging around with Riley and Maya all day. Right now everyone is out by the pool, and Riley and Maya are contemplating the greatness of one of the new underground bands in the city.

"But I don't know, there is something about them, I think they will go far." Riley says

"I hope so, because that show they played at Mike's last month was life altering." Maya replies.

"I went to a Mike's once!" Courtney says. Both Riley and Maya look at her, as if they can't decide whether or not she is being serious.

* * *

 _"So Courtney, how do you feel now that you're one of the final four girls in the running for Lucas's heart?"_

 _" I feel great. I'm not worried in the slightest. I feel confident in my time with Lucas, and who cares if his friends like me as long as he does."_

 _"Are there any other contestants that you may be worried about?"_

 _"Maya definitely raises a few flags. But that's only because of how close she is with Lucas's friends. I don't see any connection between Maya and Lucas as a couple though, so I'm totally confident."_

* * *

The next day, Maya still can't seem to shake Courtney. She is following her every where, from when she goes downstairs to talk to Riley to when she's brushing her teeth before going to bed. But when she gets up to follow Maya into the bathroom, she can't take it anymore.

"What the hell? Why are you following me? Go away."

"No. I know you are somehow cheating and I'm going to follow you until I figure out how."

"Cheating at what, Courtney? This isn't a cheating type of game? If it was, you would probably be winning."

"I don't know how you're doing it, but I'm going to find out, and when I do, I'm going to tell Lucas, and you can kiss your flower goodbye. And I'm willing to bet that that would be the only kiss you got on this show."

"Okay, Courtney, I'm going to say this one time, so you'd better listen. If you keep following me around I will report you to production. Don't worry about whether or not I've kissed Lucas, you should be worried about your time with him, and whether or not you feel confident in that. I can't help you, honey. So go away, please."

She huffs down the hall and back in to her bedroom.

"Thank god." Maya breathes.

* * *

" _Lucas, have you spoken to Maya since the flower ceremony last week?"_

 _"We've spoken in passing, and that's enough for me right now. I will talk to her tomorrow, when I can get away from everyone else. I have an idea, actually, and I think it'll be perfect."_

* * *

Maya wakes up in the morning feeling way better after having shook Courtney off of her back. She puts on a pair of shorts and some sandals, with a bright blue t shirt. She heads down stairs to get some breakfast, and sees everyone already at the round table. She pours herself some coffee, and even gets talked into adding some french vanilla creamer into it.

"Maya, I think your image could handle it if you actually like the taste of your coffee." Riley says

"I guess we'll see, won't we?".

She's walking to put her plate into the sink, when Lucas bumps into her.

"Check your pocket."

With a wink, he heads upstairs. Maya puts her plate into the sink, and walks the opposite direction he just went. She takes a small folded piece of paper from her pocket and opens it. In scrawly handwriting, it says:

 _The balcony door locks from the outside._

Maya smiles and makes her way back to the staircase and up the stairs. She walks straight until she is outside, and when she gets there, the door is immediately shut behind her, and locked. Maya turns around.

"Wow, cowboy, that was smooth."

"It feels like it would actually kill all of them to let us be alone together for two minutes."

He sits on the bench, and pats the place next to him. She raises an eyebrow, but sits anyway.

"So, Huckleberry, why did you want to get me alone so badly?"

"I feel like I haven't seen you in years. And I wanted to talk to you about the flower ceremony this week."

"What about it? Although if you're not going to give me a flower, I would prefer you tell me now instead of just not saying my name."

She hits his shoulder with hers and smiles, and he wraps an arm around her. She brings her feet up beside her on the bench. She's looking down when he snaps his fingers. She looks up at him, and he pulls out his Mic pack and switches it off. He motions for her to do the same, so she does.

"We're going to get in trouble for that, you know?"

"It'll be worth it. I need to talk to you."

"Must be important."

"Okay, so You are obviously getting a flower tomorrow, and the problem is that I want to keep Kaitlyn, but production wants me to keep Courtney."

"Why do they care?"

"Apparently Courtney is good drama for tv. But Kaitlyn is nice. I don't want to hurt her feelings. I've already let Hannah go, but I'm confused. Help."

Maya looks out into the sky, and contemplates.

"Well, Kaitlyn is easily one of my best friends, and if you're going to eliminate her, you should let her know beforehand. Tell her about the ratings, and all that stuff, and I think she will be ok."

"Are you sure?"

Maya smiles

"Positive, Acorn."

"I hate that nickname."

Maya looks straight up.

"I don't see any acorn trees around now, do you?"

"Is this your witty way of saying you want to kiss me? Because that's what I'm getting."

He smiles and leans in. Just before their lips touch she says

"Wait."

He looks around, confused.

"What?"

"Nothing, I just like it when you get flustered."

"Shut up and kiss me, Maya."

She leans forward, smiling, and their lips meet in a sweet kiss. Maya thinks it's because of the creamer Riley put into her coffee, but Lucas just thinks its fate.

* * *

A couple hours, and a serious 'talking to' from production, and Maya is out in the pool by herself. She is lying down on a huge flamingo float, and trying to get some sun. Soon though, the sliding glass door slams open, and none other than Lucas Friar is hurling himself, fully clothed, into the pool. When he surfaces Maya is shocked to say the least.

"So many questions Sundance, the first of which being what the hell?"

"Listen." he hops up onto the flamingo with her, and pulls her in close.

"I talked to Kaitlyn."

"And?"

"You will never guess what she told me."

"If you never tell me I will never know anyway?"

He smiles wide.

'Ok, you're freaking me out. What did she say?"

She can't help but return his smile.

"She told me that she felt the same way about me that I do about her. She said that we would be great friends but that's probably all. Then-"

"That's amazing news!"

"Let me finish I haven't even gotten to the best part! Then she tells me that she has had a small thing going with Nick and tha-"

"Production Nick? Big scary production guy Nick?"

Maya is completely surprised, to say the very least.

"Yeah! So Farkle and I went back and watched some of the tapes, and sure enough, they have definitely been hanging out."

Maya smiles, and so does Lucas.

"So I'm going to get the guy, and keep my second closest friend in the house."

"Woah, woah, slow your roll. I'm picking Courtney on finale night."

He keeps his face straight for a total of three seconds before they both burst out laughing. Lucas grabs Maya's face and kisses her sweetly.

"Only one more week."

He says.

"Oh man."

"What is it?" Maya says

"I jumped in the pool with my normal clothes on."

'Yeah, hopalong, hence why I gave you the weird look."

"You make me do weird things Maya Hart."

"Nope, that one was all on you."

He laughs again and gets off the huge flamingo and gets out of the pool. He grabs a towel by the door and turns around.

"See you later?"

"Probably, they won't let me leave the house."

"You're right."

He winks at her before closing the same sliding glass door he bursted out through. Maya leans back, and can't help the smile that escapes her. One thing's for sure though, she's definitely going to talk to Kaitlyn later.

* * *

A couple hours and an oven pizza later, and Maya is walking upstairs to talk to Kaitlyn. She knocks on the door, and when she hears a soft voice telling her to come in, she does.

"I think it's about time you and I had a conversation, little missy." Maya says, smirking.

"Maya, I'm two years older than you, don't call me that."

Kaitlyn is smiling.

"You and Nick?"

Maya can't help the huge smile that breaks out on her face.

"You and Lucas?"

"Oh no, you can't turn this around on me! We are supposed to be here for Lucas! Not the production guys!"

"Guy! Singular! I honestly don't know how it happened, it just sort of did, you know."

"I remember our first night here too, when you imitated him and I laughed so hard, and now look at ya, head over heels."

"I could say the same about you, Maya."

"What?" She says, confused.

"Maya, Lucas came in here earlier to tell me that he wan't giving me a flower this week. I'm not upset. I don't even like him like that. We're friends."

"Okay?" Maya said, still not understanding the way this conversation was headed.

"Okay so Riley and I were in the kitchen when he ran outside and jumped in to the pool fully clothed. We saw you guys kiss, and I'm pretty sure you like him as more than a friend."

"What was your first clue?" Maya says, sarcastically.

"Yeah I like him, I like him a lot. So much that it actually sort of scares me you know?"

"I know."

"Oh yeah, with Nick. Production Nick." Maya wriggles her eyebrows.

"Shut up."

"I'm happy for you, Kait."

"I'm happy for you, Maya, I hope you and Lucas are happy together."

"Thanks."

Maya gets up and hugs Kaitlyn. She's never really been the touchy feely type, but she feels that its a good time for it.

* * *

The next morning, 11 am comes all too soon, and she barely has time to change her clothes before being ushered into the ballroom. Production arranges the women exactly how they want them to stand, and Lucas comes into the room, holding two sunflowers.

"Hey Ladies, thanks for being here, I have had the time of my life getting to know you women, and I regretfully have to let two of you go today. After this rose ceremony, the finale will begin tomorrow. Thank you to everyone who has been apart of this experience. Now, without further ado, Courtney, will you accept this rose?"

Courtney practically floats down to Lucas and takes her flower. She leans up to kiss him, but he swivels and kisses her cheek instead. Maya almost lets a laugh slip.

"And my final rose for this week goes to, Maya."

Maya walks towards him

"You had to call my name second didn't you?"

"Yes ma'am."

He smiles and kisses her on the cheek, and probably leaves his lips there a little too long, but neither one of them care. Maya turns around then to hug Kaitlyn and Hannah.

"Don't worry Maya papaya, I'm staying with Nick at the hotel across the street, you can't get rid of me that easily."

"Thank god, I don't know what i'd do without you Kait."

"Likewise, little hart."

Maya rolls her eyes, and just like that, only one flower ceremony to go.

Maya is just about to leave, when Lucas stops her.

"Hold on a minute Maya. Both of you ladies will be going on a triple date with me and my friends. Courtney, you're up first and your date is tonight at 9. Maya, yours is tomorrow at 4. See you then."

He winks at Maya, and then lets her leave the room.

* * *

 _"Finally finale time! How're you feeling Lucas?"_

 _"Better than ever, my heart is set, and I just have to make it 3 more days. Im on a cloud, man."_

 _"Does this have anything to do with a small blonde named Maya?"_

 _"Not anything, man, everything."_

Lucas smiles, unapologetically.

Fade to Black


	4. Finale Throws to First

**A/N: Hey you guys, thank you so much for reading this story, I hope you like the ending, it's going to be a little long, but I don't want to split it up!**

 **Thank you so much for sticking with me here, and I'm pretty proud of this story. As always, reviews are encouraged (Like, really, really encouraged! I want to know what you guys think!), and I hope you like the finale of Love's A Game: Rewritten!**

* * *

 _"So, Maya, the flower ceremony just ended, and one of your best friends didn't receive a flower, how do you feel?"_

 _"What kind of morbid question is that? I'm definitely going to miss her, but this is the last leg of the competition anyway, so I will be seeing her soon."_

 _"And Courtney, how do you feel about her getting a flower?"_

 _"She followed me around all week this week, so honestly I'm trying not to think of her at all."_

 _"Last question, how are you feeling about this triple date tomorrow?"_

 _"I'm feeling great, I don't know what we're doing yet, but I already feel so at home with Lucas and his friends, I think it'll be very hard for us to not have a good time."_

Is she smiling? She didn't notice.

* * *

When Courtney and the gang go out for their date, Maya can't help but feel bored. She's all alone in the house, save for a few production people. She's trying to think of what to do for the night when she sees a certain production member.

"Hey Nick!"

Maya waves him over, and the tall man comes over.

"What, Maya?"

"Have a seat, let's talk?" She says.

'I'd rather not, thanks." He says.

"I wasn't asking." Maya says, narrowing her eyebrows.

Nick sits down opposite Maya.

"How tall are you Nick?"

Nick rolls his eyes.

"Six foot five."

"Im five two, and do not think I will hesitate to kick your ass if you hurt Kaitlyn."

"Somehow, I believe that you really could kick my ass, so that's something."

He says, seriously.

"Good, because I am not afraid, and Kaitlyn is my friend, so you better be genuine with her."

"Maya, I like her a lot, I promise."

"Good." She pats him on the back.

"You'd better hope I don't hear otherwise."

Nick smiles, and Maya gets up to go make some popcorn in the kitchen. When she gets back to the living room, she sees a note from the production guys, who aren't anywhere to be seen at the moment.

 _Maya,_

 _We've all been sent to cover the group date at the New York Ranger game, I guess Courtney is wreaking havoc. Have fun with your privacy, you won't get it long._

 _Nick_

Maya smiles, because even though Nick is more than a foot taller than her, he didn't seem all that scary anymore.

She can't think of anything special to do with her privacy, so she takes her paint and a hoodie to the cement patio outside. It's night, so it's a little chilly, but it's nice. Maya turns on the lights, but it's still not enough, so she goes into the ballroom and steals one of the huge set lights that they use for the show.

"Woah, that's way better." She says.

She picks up her paint and starts painting individual squares, and by the time she's on the last square of the whole patio, it's 1 am, and the door is finally opening.

"Maya?" She hears, from somewhere in the house.

"Out here!" She yells, hoping they heard her.

The sliding glass door opens, and it's Riley.

"Oh my god Maya, did you do all of these?"

"Yeah, no one was here, and I got bored."

"Well, let me tell you about my night, I promise you won't be bored."

"Okay, but let's go inside, it's getting really cold."

The two girls walk inside, and Riley starts some hot chocolate. While she's doing that, Maya hops up onto the counter and sits there, so she can hear when Riley starts to speak.

"Okay so, as soon as we get in the car and Lucas tells Courtney that we're going to the Ranger game, she immediately got angry. She was talking about how no one was considerate of her feelings or something like that. And you know me, I was trying to give her the benefit of the doubt, so I suggested that maybe we should do something different. She immediately becomes super passive aggressive about the whole thing, so we end up going to the Ranger game like we planned, only Lucas didn't want to sit by her, so she sat by Zay and Lucas sat by me and Farkle, and it was a mess."

Maya starts laughing.

"What's with the laughing, ladies?"

Says, Lucas, who just walked into the kitchen.

"I'm telling Maya about the disaster we just went out with."

"Yeah, and because of that-" Lucas says "I am telling you upfront, that we are going to a Knicks game tomorrow, and you better be okay with it, because I can't handle doing what happened tonight again."

"The only complaint I have is that I don't have any Knicks gear to wear. Aren't they playing the thunder?"

"Yeah. And I think I can help with the whole no gear thing, just wear a shirt and I have something for you."

He smiles up at me. Riley hands Maya her mug of hot chocolate and says

"If you're going to be in the garden, you've got to represent the Knicks. It's the law of New York."

Riley and Maya clink their mugs together, and smile.

"I think I'm going to go find Farkle, I miss him."

"Riley, you saw him like 20 minutes ago?' Lucas says

"Yeah, but I wanted to find an excuse to leave you two alone."

"I approve." He says.

Once Riley leaves the room, Lucas gets up from his seat at the table and grabs a mug from the cabinet, and comes over to pour himself some hot chocolate from where Maya is sitting.

"You know short stack, I didn't know you were the hot chocolate type."

"Who _isn't_ the hot chocolate type?"

"Touche"

They both smile.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" He asks.

"Yeah, I'm stoked to get out of this house."

"That's all?"

"And to hang out with Riley."

He rolls his eyes, but he smiles.

"Well, as much as i'm enjoying this, it's almost 1:30, and I need some sleep." Maya says.

She hops off the counter and notices how close they are.

"See you tomorrow?" he asks.

"I'd hope so, unless Courtney kills me in my sleep."

He laughs, and when he leans down to kiss her, she doesn't stop him. Soon enough she is in her bed, trying to sleep before the game tomorrow.

* * *

Maya wakes up at 10:30, and after she showers and outs a pair of light jeans on, she braids her hair into two french braids. She decides on sneakers of the day, and heads down stairs. When she gets there, she sees Riley at the table, with her laptop out and her glasses on.

"Hey Riles, what's up? I thought no one could have electronics?" Maya asks, grabbing an apple from the basket.

"These are special circumstances. My biggest work client decided that she didn't like the party arrangements at the last minute, so I've been up since 4 trying to rearrange everything."

"Woah, sounds like a mess." Maya says.

"It was, but it's all better now."

She stays on the computer for a few more minutes, then shuts it off.

"You excited about the game today?" Maya asks.

"Yeah, Farkle doesn't really understand sports, and it's cute watching him try to imitate Zay and Lucas. What about you?"

"Should be fun, I like basketball."

"Good, because after last night Lucas was so worried that you wouldn't want to go to a basketball game."

"Was Courtney really that bad?"

"She was definitely s-"

"Good morning ladies!" Courtney walks in to the kitchen and sits at the table with the two girls.

"Um, good morning?" Maya says. She looks at Riley, and riley shrugs in confusion.

"So where's Lucas? Did he give you the bad news Maya? Our date went amazingly last night, and I told him to make sure to let you down easily."

"It went well? I don't think we were on the same planet, let alone the same dat-"

Maya covers Rileys mouth before she finishes her sentence.

"No, you know what, I haven't even seen Lucas, this morning, actually."

"Oh, maybe he is with the production higher-ups telling them that he does't even want to go on this date with you."

"Yeah, I bet you're right. Why don't you go find him?"

"Will do, see you ladies later." She sends a little wave on her way out of the room, and Riley and Maya can't hold in their laughs anymore. By the time they are about to leave for the game, Courtney has made her way to the pool, alone.

"Riley, Maya, we'd better leave soon!" The girls hear Zay yell across the house.

"Coming!" The girls say together.

They make their way to the door, and there is one person missing.

"Where's Lucas?" Maya asks.

"I'm here, I'm here!" Lucas says running in to the room. He's holding a Knicks jersey in his hands.

"Here you go, shortie, it took me a minute to find."

She puts over her head.

"How do I look?" She asks

"Like an allstar." Lucas smiles "Except, smaller."

She hits his arm.

"I could still grow, you know?"

"At 24? It's unlikely."

"Shut up hop along."

He laughs, and the gang heads out to the cars. Each couple gets a separate car, and Lucas and Maya are equal parts happy to be alone, and having separation anxiety from Riley (mainly Maya on the second one).

"Who do you think is gonna win?" Lucas asks

"My New York spirit wants to say the Knicks, but my brain says the Thunder."

"I think you're right. But one day the Knicks are gonna win it all, and we will be sitting in the garden and we will be able to say that we stuck through."Lucas says, smiling.

"You promise to take me to that game?" Maya says, in a rare soft moment.

"If Courtney isn't available, sure."

"Oh my god, I can't stand you."

Lucas laughs and kisses her cheek, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't excited.

The energy in the Garden is electric, and Maya isn't sure if it's because of all the die hard Knicks fans, or because Lucas is holding her hand the way he is.

It only takes a couple of minutes to locate everyones seats, and Lucas looks slightly annoyed that Riley is sitting next to Maya.

"Don't worry Huckleberry, you're still my date."

"At this point who knows?" He says.

Maya leans up and kisses his cheek. She then turns to Riley and they continue their conversation about the players.

"You know-" Riley says "-Smackle actually dated one of the players in college. She won't tell me which one, but I'm starting to narrow it down."

Riley sends Smackle a pointed look, and Smackle just winks and turns back to Zay.

The game starts, and Riley and Maya keep their conversation going, even though it frequently gets interrupted when Maya shoots out of her seat to cheer for a three pointer, or when Riley gets up to yell at a ref. Most people would think it would be the opposite, but Riley is passionate about the knicks.

Maya feels Lucas put his arm around her, and she knows that he doesn't mind all the time she's spending talking to Riley. She leans over and kisses his cheek, and when she sees him smile, she realizes that when she gets back, she maybe owes her mom an apology.

When the game is over, they all get back into their respective cars, after Riley's mandatory photoshoot of course. Lucas slides in after Maya, and the driver starts the ride home.

"I had a great time on my date, I just wish you would've been on it with me." Lucas says.

Maya slides into the middle seat, and looks at Lucas.

"I'm here now?"

"And Riley's not." Lucas states.

"And Riley's not." Maya reiterates.

That's all the confirmation he needs, because before she knows it, his mouth is on hers. It doesn't get very far though, because with a hand on his chest, Maya pushes away.

"Lucas, as much as I want to do this, we are still going to be on tv."

She points to the corner of the car, where the small swively camera is. She's all to familiar with these cameras, they've been in every corner of every room that she has walked nor out of the last couple of weeks.

"Maya, it's fine."

"And it will be more than fine when we get out of the cameras in a week. Just hold off a little for me? Please? My mom is going to watch this."

"Okay, you're right. Hi Mayas mom!"

He waves to the camera, before turning back to Maya and whispering

"What's her name?"

Maya shakes her head, but smiles none the less when she says

"Katy."

"Hello Katy, sorry we have to meet like this. I really like your daughter, and next week when I meet you in real life, I hope you like me."

Maya laughs, and Lucas kisses her cheek.

"Damn, that ride was fast." Lucas says as they get out of the car.

He walks her up to the door,

"I had a great time with you tonight."

"Same, Sundance, maybe we can do it again sometime."

She sticks her hand into the space between them for a good-hearted 'we're on national television' handshake.

He smiles and grabs her hand. He shakes it twice, and then he laughs and Maya knew she shouldn't have even touched him to begin with. He pulls her arm into her, and kisses her lips softly, before letting go. When they pull apart, Maya says

"And now, I am going up stairs because it is late, and I'm tired, and if I stay down here any longer I will probably keep letting you do that."

Maya turns on her heels then, and walks up the stairs without looking back.

* * *

.Knock.

Maya wakes up with a confused expression, and when she doesn't hear anything else, she closes her eyes again.

.Knock.

Maya opens her eyes, and looks at the clock next to her bed. 3:02am

"Ugh. This house better be on fire."

Maya stands up and goes to open the door to reveal a messy haired, pajama clad Lucas.

"What the hell sundance, do you know what time it is?"

"Around 3? I couldn't sleep."

"So you chose to come wake me up?"

'Yeah, can I lay with you?"

"Lucas, it's 3 in the morning, the morning before the finale no less, and you want to come in here. Why on earth would I let you do that?"

He leans forward and kisses her lips quickly.

"True, come on in."

Lucas laughs. He walks in with the big blanket her brought. He lays on her bed.

"Really? You see the cameras, and you still lay on my bed. Tell me how this looks." Maya says

'Ok, here." He lies on top of her blankets, with only his own coverage him.

"Now there is no way any funny business can happen. Now come over here, and go back to sleep."

Maya rolls her eyes, and gets back into the bed.

"Okay, America, I'm just making sure that you can clearly see this. He is not under my blankets, we are both fully clothed."

"Are you done?" Lucas asks. "I'm tired."

"Yeah, I'm done."

"Good."

* * *

Maya wakes up suddenly. and turns around to find the source of the loud ringing sound that is invading the quiet. It's coming from a watch on the night stand.

"Lucas!" Maya whispers. "Get up and turn off your damn alarm."

He wakes up slowly.

"Good morning." He says with a smile.

"No, turn that off!" She says.

"Maya, it's 10am, I set the alarm to go off so that we could get ready for the flower ceremony."

"Ugh."

He picks up the watch and clicks the side button to turn it off. Maya lies back down on her back. After Lucas puts the watch down, he puts one hand another side of Maya. He smiles, and leans down to kiss her. It's a short kiss, and when it's broken Lucas says

"You know, you do have the option to brush your teeth?" He says.

Maya hits him in the arm probably harder than she should.

"And you have the option to sleep in your own bed, and yet here you are, insulting me about my breath when you know I haven't gotten the chance to brush my teeth."

"You're right, I'm sorry. Not really, but if it helps you feel better."

"Shut up, and get out of here, Sundance, you need to shower and change before you give me yet another flower."

"Once again, you're right. See you downstairs?"

"I guess."

Maya gets up and goes into the bathroom to shower, and when she gets back, Lucas is gone. Maya picks a little dress to wear to the ceremony this week, instead of her normal shorts and a tee shirt.

She makes her way downstairs and into the ballroom to see the production crew already there.

"It's about time Maya, we were about to send someone to go get you." Nick says, ushering her across the room.

"Hey Nick, how's Kaitlyn."

"Not the time, Maya."

Maya raises her eyebrows, amused.

"She's great. Now don't worry about that, we have things to do. There's only five minutes until showtime."

* * *

 _Welcome to the finale of Love's A Game! Lucas has_ _narrowed down from 10 women to 2, and the excitement is only getting bigger. Without further ado, here's Lucas, for the final flower ceremony._

* * *

Lucas walks into the ballroom, without any flowers. Maya is definitely a little confused, but she plays it cool.

"Hey Courtney, Maya, and thank you for being willing to stick through this journey with me. I've had a great experience getting to know each of you. I hope no matter what happens, we can all continue to be friends in the future. So at the risk of making anyone wait longer than they should, Courtney, will you come up here please?"

Courtney sends Maya a look that can only be classified under the bitch category, and descends her way to Lucas. When she gets to him, he continues talking.

"Courtney, you are a lot of fun to hang out with, and I really enjoyed learning about your job and your hobbies. I wish you the best of luck with all that you do, but I'm sorry so say that I do not have a flower for you."

Her face falls, and she huffs back to where she was standing, because when she tries to leave the room, Nick makes her go back.

"Maya, can you come up here?" Lucas says.

Maya walks to him, and when she gets there, he continues.

"Maya, I have had the time of y life with you, and even though you and Riley sort of get on my nerves when you're together, I really think that we have a great connection, and if you're willing I want it to continue."

Maya starts smiling.

"However, I do not have a flower for you either."

If someone dropped a pin, it would sound like an explosion.

"I have something better."

He pulls his hand out of his pocket, and reveals a singular acorn.

Maya starts laughing.

"This is the exact acorn hat interrupted our first kiss." He puts it down on the ground, and steps down on it hard with his shoe.

"It won't interrupt this one."

Maya is smiling so hard, and when the balloons rain down, she doesn't even notice. Lucas kisses her softly, but more sure than he ever has. This one lasts a little longer, and Maya doesn't stop it for a couple seconds longer than usual. Soon enough Riley is running in an hugging the both of them, and the production people come out, and its a full blown party.

* * *

"Mom, turn this off."

Katy huffs.

"But Maya, the season finale only just started!"

"And you already know how it ends." She says.

Lucas wraps an arm around Maya, and kisses her head.

"And don't think that just because this was your idea and it worked, that I will listen to your major life advice ever again."

"I don't think I'm capable of one upping myself this time, Maya."

She smiles at them, and leaves. Lucas turns to face Maya.

"You know, Maya, If Love really is a game, then I'm glad I'm a professional baseball player."

"Lucas, your pick up lines are about as good as your throws to first, so you'll probably lose."

She gets up with a smile, and when he chases after her, she can't help but let him catch her. She thinks a hopeful thought for the first time in a while,

 _If love's a game, I think I won._


End file.
